To some sectional title owners, smoking is a deal breaker when renting their property to a tenant, but how far can an owner go to prevent this?
The Tobacco Products Control Act No 83 of 1993 regulates smoking in “public places”, which definition does not apply to private dwellings such as sectional title schemes.
Smoking on common property and in common areas of a scheme can be regulated by the scheme’s conduct rules, as imposed by the developer or body corporate, as smoking can be a nuisance to non-smoking tenants, and can also pose a fire risk to the building when lit cigarettes are disposed of incorrectly.
However, the regulation of smoking within a unit cannot be achieved through the conduct rules and should be dealt with specifically in the lease agreement concluded between the landlord and the tenant.
For more information or assistance, contact us at STBB.
